Music

I am a big fan of lots of varieties of music.  But my favorite lately is anything that makes the babies kick.  And they do have a preference!  Favorites lately include Celtic music, New Age (think Enya) and church music.  They enjoy some classical and pop as well, but the first 3 get the most reaction.  I also love singing random songs throughout the day, and humming as well.  I think the vibration of humming is easily felt by the babies, because they react more to it.  =)

Music in general is very important to me.  I have loved music from a very early age in my life.  When I was little, I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.  My heartfelt attempts to stay on key were pretty bad.  But after lots of practice, and encouragement from my mother, I finally mastered the concept.  I can happily report that I now possess near perfect pitch!  I sing all the time - in the car, around the house, while out and about... I'm sure it's annoying to some, but I've learned to not care.

My favorite types of music actually run pretty close to what the babies current favorites are: New Age, Celtic and LDS Church music.  I also enjoy some folk music (it reminds me of my grandparents), and choral music.

I plan to really surround my children throughout their education with various good music types, and teach them the basics about reading music.  My hopes and dreams for them are to be able to play at least one instrument each.  Time will tell, I suppose.  My choices: piano, violin, cello, flute, harp or clarinet.

Baby Shower and Nursery

It happened!  Saturday, the baby shower came through.  It was a wonderful time with family, and I really enjoyed it.  Somehow, I think the babies did, too.

I drove down to my Aunt's house in West Jordan, and met up with my family.  There was Aunt Verlene, Amy, Julie and LaDonna from my family, and Dan's Aunt Brenda, cousin Shauntyl and great Aunt Pat.  We went out to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes - a yummy salad and soup buffet, and then headed back to Verlene's house so I could open up gifts.  (LaDonna kindly took the photos for me, so she isn't in any of them...)

I got 2 Pack n Plays w/ sheets, some cute outfits and bibs, and some baby toys.  In addition to the new gifts, my cousins were generous enough to share some hand me downs from their kids.  The have mostly boys in their families, so Seth has loads of outfits to wear.  I really enjoyed washing, folding and sorting them all by size.

I also got blankets and towels, a swing, a high chair, an exersaucer, and a dresser w/ changing pad for the top.  The dresser will be brought up on another day, since it was raining and snowing on Saturday.  I am so blessed to have such generous family.  This makes things much less stressful for me, since I have less to worry about getting ready.

Saturday night and into Sunday, I have been getting everything situated in the nursery.  With Charles successfully (but not happily) ousted from the room, I have been able to get things set up.  Due to the expense of buying 2 cribs, we opted to use the Pack n Plays as bassinets until we can get the cribs.  I think they will do just fine.  And, they are very easy to set up and take down.  A big plus for moving about the house.

All in all, I am so very happy and grateful for my family, and their help in getting us set up for the arrival of Seth and Kate.

Nesting

It's been happening for weeks now, but tonight it hit full force.  I realized that my babies will be arriving in about 6 weeks (give or take), and there is still lots to do to get ready.  Enter: nesting mania!

The list is long on the white board, and my energy supply is short, so I enlisted my sweet husband's help to get things cleaned up and going.  There is still about 10 things left on the list, but we are getting there. 

One of the major projects for me is kicking my poor little Charles out of the room that has been "his" since we moved here.  Charles doesn't do change well, so I expect it to be a process.  This weekend, he will officially be moved out of the nursery and relocated to the living room.  He already enjoys the run of the house when we are home and let him out of his cage, but this will be a bit more difficult.  Now we will have to keep him out of the babies' room so as to keep the furniture from falling prey to his chewing habits, and to keep me from having to wash fur off of the bedding.  Wish me luck with that...

Then there's the shuffle of stuff around the house.  I have a lot of hobbies - ones that require the accumulation of a lot of materials.  There's writing, reading, music, sewing, embroidery, scrapbooking, drawing, painting and rock collecting.  I used the 2nd bedroom as a "stash" for my hobby gear, but will now have to be more creative with concealing it.  I absolutely refuse to give up some of said hobbies, even if I won't be doing them for a while.  I made that mistake once, and ended up spending lots of money to replace what I got rid of.  I'm sure others can relate to decisions like that.

Anyway, this week will finish up with lots of dust being banished, furniture moved around and an attempt to put order to my house.  It should be an interesting time for everyone.

Books

I love books!  When I was a little girl, my parents would read to me - mostly my Mom.  I had a good grasp of reading at an early age - I could "read" a short picture book - Baby Goes Around the Block - sometime around the age of 3.  As I got older, my Mom introduced chapter books, and I was the type that read with a flashlight under the covers after I was supposed to be asleep. 

So, that being said, it won't surprise you to hear that I have been researching the classic literature for children.  All day today, I have pored over websites and lists of favorites and classics for various ages and reading levels.  It thrilled me to reminisce about the books on the lists that I read in my youth.  I even took notes of those lists... 20 pages worth! 

I realize that there is no possible way that my children will read 20 pages worth of lists of books, but a Mom can dream...  I plan to comb the thrift shops for literature finds and be a frequent library visitor, because I also realize that there is no possible way that I can purchase all of those books from Barnes and Noble at full price. 

Books that I remember reading in my youth include (no particular order): Where the Red Fern Grows, Black Beauty, Bunnicula, Nancy Drew series, the Bobbsey Twins, Goodnight Moon, Bridge to Terabithia and Danny and the Dinosaur.

I am excited to share these, and many others, with my babies.  It's probably going to be more fun for me at first, but I hope that my enthusiasm catches on to them a little bit...

Education

All parents think about it... education.  How can we give the best possible education to our child?  Are the schools in the area up to the task?  Etc.

Well, I admit, the second question isn't one I really concern myself with at this point.  Why, you ask?  Because from the time that I was in High School, I had determined that I would home school my kids.  I was educated in the public school system for most of my young life.  I enjoyed the structure and I had good teachers, overall.  That is, until I got to High School.  Suddenly, I found myself in a world gone mad.  It wasn't about learning anymore.  It was about popularity, extracurricular activities, and just making it through the mountain of homework I always seemed to have.  Needless to say, I was frustrated.

After struggling with many issues during my Freshman year, it was decided that the best route would be to enroll in a correspondence style High School instead.  I cannot tell you how much of a difference it made for my education!  Suddenly, I had the freedom to work on my "homework" when I was at my best - which was not in the morning hours.  I had to make up all of the credits from my Freshman year, but was able to do that in the 3 short years I had remaining, and managed to graduate in the same year as my class.  I was a believer in self directed learning and the world of home school.

Fast forward 10 years, now I stand on the precipice of having 2 children of my own.  Will I send my kids to the local public school?  Nope.  Will they be horribly stunted in their socialization?  Not if I have anything to say about it.  Will they get a quality education?  Heck yes.

Being a History major in college, it is pretty easy to understand that I have the tendency to research things a lot.  Such is the case with home school curriculum.  Until just the other day, I had no idea what format I wanted to take as I moved forward with home school.  Now, I have discovered the perfect fit for my personality and teaching style... Classical Education.  This method is very rigorous, and required even more of the teacher than of the student.  It is a multidisciplinary approach based on History, taught in chronological order.  Each section of History is taught 3 times over the course of grades 1-12.  The focus is on original sources, critical thinking and logic.  What a concept!  I am in love.

The book that best explains this method of teaching is called The Well-Trained Mind, by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise.  It is now on my Amazon wish list, and will be one of the first things I buy to prepare for my home schooling adventures.  Until then, I will continue to research and find great materials to supplement my babies' education.

Baby clothes

I think one of the many joys of having babies is getting to pick out that adorable wardrobe for them to debut in.  An important outfit to decide upon is the homecoming outfit.  You have to make sure that they look absolutely irresistible when they come home from the hospital.  Here is what Seth and Kate will likely be wearing when we bring them home (unless they are too big for them).

Dan & I went to a great store called Kid to Kid to stock up on baby clothes.  I have to say, it is the greatest store ever.  We spent $35 and got loads of clothes and even a maternity sweater and movie, too.

It makes me really happy to spread all of the clothes out and just look at them.  I take after my mom and grandma with my laundry habits, so it was fun to wash the clothes in Dreft detergent, dry them and smell the scent of the soap on the clothes while folding.  It was wonderful.

Baby Shower

I must admit, I am really bad at being the center of attention.  Before I got married, I had a bridal shower, and it was quite difficult for me to have everybody watch me open gifts and react.  I was really nervous.  I'm sure this feeling is quite irrational, but there you have it.  I don't like being the center of attention.

Bridal shower in 2009

Now, fast forward to baby showers.  I don't have as much of a problem with having a baby shower for some strange reason.  Maybe it's the fact that, as much as it's me in the limelight, it's not really about me.  It's about the babies.  And let's face it, who doesn't like ooo-ing and aahhh-ing over adorable baby clothes, blankets and toys?  Even diapers are cute!  Who knew that by making something extra small, it would make it almost irresistible to a group of women? 

I was supposed to have my baby shower today.  Unfortunately, the flu decided to have a party this week, too, and most of the guest list was either getting over it or getting it.  So, it has been postponed until next week.  While I was rather disappointed, I was also grateful for the consideration of the hostess, my aunt Verlene.  It's hard enough being pregnant, no need to add a horrible stomach flu to the mix.  So, to my family and friends who would have attended today - thank you, and for those that were sick - thank you for not sharing your germs with me.

Plans for the nursery

I've decided, since I will be having a boy and a girl, to have a nursery theme that works for both.  I've chosen Beatrix Potter's many book characters.  Some of those include Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle Duck and the Flopsy Bunnies. 

I have loved these books most of my life, and always thought it would be fun to incorporate them into a nursery.  So, now is my big chance! 

It is worth noting that rabbits have always been a favorite animal of mine.  From the time that I was little, we had pet rabbits off and on at my house.  As I've grown up, things are much the same.  I really can't count how many pet rabbits I've had, but suffice it to say that it's a lot.  Currently, our little rascal of a bunny is named Charles.  Although he's cute as a button, he will not be debuting in the nursery this time around.  In fact, right now, the second bedroom of our apartment pretty much belongs to him, but unbeknown to him, he will be ousted to make room for baby furniture and creating a fur-free zone for our new arrivals.

I have great plans for the bedroom - I will borrow the pallet from the book images and some fabric I purchased that has the theme.  We will go with browns, tans, pinks and blues.  Green and yellow may sneak into the pallet as well, but the main colors with center around the pink/blue with brown.  The furniture will be a dark brown espresso color, the blankets will be the print fabric or a plain design in the color pallet.  I will accessorize with stuffed rabbits and artwork on the walls from the books.  It is still in the planning phase, but I will update with photos as the progress is made.


I fully expect my children to pick up on the subtle tribute to my favorite pet as they drift off to dreamland... How exciting that will be to finally get them here to complete the picture.